Outdoor Fitness Guide

Celebrity trainers reveal how to make the most of summer

A major summer perk: being able to take your fitness routine from the drudgery of the gym to the great outdoors. Though fresh air can cleanse your soul and invigorate the senses, experts say simultaneously maintaining an indoor regimen is required for bikini-ready results. Here, how to find the perfect balance between nature and your exercise mat—plus top outdoor activities and which body areas they tone.

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MAKE A SCHEDULE

Tracy Anderson, personal trainer to Gwyneth Paltrow, says that for a movie-star body "focused indoor exercise time" is imperative: "I prefer my clients to have an hour and a half of strategy-oriented workouts six days a week—45 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of muscle structuring." When helping Paltrow get fit for a film and its red carpet premieres, Anderson has the actress do a hard-core dance cardio routine and intense mat work daily. Any outdoor activities that Paltrow does—be it playing with her children in the park or jogging around her neighborhood—is "a bonus."

Besides whittling your waistline and toning your wobbly bits, "I believe that the whole point of working out in the gym is so that you can take advantage of life more," says Valerie Waters, the expert responsible for Jennifer Garner's lean bod. "By doing targeted strength training there, you'll see quick results and be better equipped to do outdoor activities." The benefits also work in reverse. According to Waters, doing certain outside exercise can reinforce indoor strength training and work muscles in new and unexpected ways. "When you head back to the gym, you'll feel that you've gained strength and agility in some areas," she says.

As a sample schedule, Waters suggests doing indoor strength-building workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, optional cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and your choice of outdoor activities on the weekends.

VIVA VARIETY

In order to increase the exercise value of fun in the sun, experts say you should alternate the type of outdoor fitness that you do. "If you continually stick with the same activity, you'll get stronger in certain areas and lose strength in others," says Kenny Mahadeo, master coach at Clay Health Club & Spa in NYC.

In choosing which outdoor activities to do each weekend, Waters says to go back and forth between one that's upper body–focused and one that's lower body–focused. "You need to mix it up," she says. "If you choose to do Rollerblading one day or weekend, you should do a sport that works your upper body the next."

OUTDOOR WORKOUTS: UPPER BODY

Tennis
If you're a beginner, Anderson and Waters say tennis won't help you shed calories or break much of sweat—but, as with any sport, the better you are at it (and the more you get moving), the better results you'll see. "You have to have a sense of adventure and willingness to be humbled," says Waters, who encourages tennis novices to take group lessons. "Many group classes are set up so that there's a conditioning aspect—for example, circuit training that involves running around the tennis court, sashaying from side to side, hitting the ball back and forth, etc."

Once you reach a more competitive level and are able to put power behind your swing, tennis can be great for your upper body. Forehand strokes work the pectorals, deltoids (shoulders), and biceps; backhand strokes use the triceps, front shoulder muscles, and latissimus dorsi (lower back muscles); serves fire up the pectorals, deltoids, and biceps, plus the rotator cuff of the shoulder.

Swimming
"Swimming is a great low-impact cardio workout," says Mahadeo, explaining that "the feeling of weightlessness water provides allows for less resistance and a wider range of motion." Though swimming works your body from head to toe (especially when doing the breaststroke, which requires more robust kicking), the arms and upper body are used much more than the muscles in your lower half. In particular, doing the front or back crawl primarily works your deltoids, trapezius muscles (upper back), triceps, and biceps, whereas the breaststroke places additional emphasis on the legs, lats, and pectorals.

Kayaking
If you favor the rowing machine at the gym, kayaking could be just the sport for you. "As when using pulley equipment, you're working your lower back," says Waters. "Kayaking works muscles in your upper back, too, plus your shoulders and core; you have to keep your abs tight in order to kayak successfully."

Surfing
"Surfing uses all your major muscles—especially the back, shoulders, and core," says Waters, adding, "It also works the legs and butt because you have to be in a squatting position while balancing on the board." Waters surfs herself and says that, though the sport is strenuous, a person with a basic level of fitness can do it with practice.

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"It will probably be one of your favorite activities once you get the hang of it," says professional Oakley surfer Travis Mellem.

OUTDOOR WORKOUTS: LOWER BODY

Cycling
"Biking is a great endurance activity," says Mahadeo. "It works your hips and thighs and a lot of the lower leg muscles."

How much muscle gained and calories burned, however, depends largely on your maximum perceived rate of exertion (MPRE), says celebrity trainer David Kirsch, whose clients include Heidi Klum and Liv Tyler. "MPRE is a subjective gauge of how hard you're pushing yourself. On a scale of one to 10, ask yourself whether you're sweating, if you feel your heart rate increasing, if you could carry on a conversation while biking, and if you feel your muscles burning," explains Kirsch. "When you first start out, allow yourself a little latitude, but as you get more proficient, turn that dial up because that's when you start pushing your limits and seeing great results."

Waters concurs: "What you get out of biking depends on your intensity level—if you're a beginner and pedaling leisurely through New York's Central Park it won't be as much of a workout. But if you go faster and really challenge yourself, it can be great."

In other words, work your way up from smooth scenic routes to rugged terrain. "With off-road mountain biking, the surface is unstable so there's more balance involved—there are also more hills to surmount," says Mahadeo.

Running
Besides being an excellent cardio workout, running can also tone your legs and derriere. For those who need extra motivation to get jogging outdoors, Kirsch suggests signing up for a local running club or race. Once you get used to hitting the pavement, take your run to the beach or trail to enrich your workout. "Running in the sand is more difficult than running on pavement and will tone your calves," says Waters.

Like the beach, nature trails can also add variety to your running routine by working leg and gluteal muscles differently: "Trails typically have inclines and declines. Going uphill works your hamstrings and glutes; running downhill works your quads and glutes," says Mahadeo.

Even when you're not charging up and down hills, Waters says the uneven terrain of trails tests your balance and calls for greater ankle stability ("trail running can really work your legs, feet, and ankles").

Rollerblading
Rollerblading is a lower impact exercise than running but can similarly tone your legs and glutes. In terms of the latter, Mahadeo says rollerblading actually works them with greater intensity since, as you move from side to side, you're in a mini-squat position. This fluid side-lunging also gives inner and outer thigh muscles a workout, says Waters: "If you haven't been doing side lunges and leg lifts at the gym before Rollerblading, you'll probably be sore the next day."

OUTDOOR WORKOUTS: UPPER & LOWER BODY

Beach Volleyball
Playing in the sand can be a full-body workout if you have a competitive attitude, says Waters. Anderson agrees: "You need to really sweat and be a good performer." Once up to speed, though, look forward to toner legs and a tighter tush (all that sliding in the sand can work wonders)—not to mention a stronger back, shoulders, and core (serves and spikes put these areas to the test).

Jump Rope
Like running, jump rope is a cardiovascular-focused exercise that also yields toning and calorie-burning benefits. Bonus: "A jump rope is cheap, it's portable, and you can do it anywhere," says Kirsch.

Because both your arms are constantly working to move the rope forward, the activity works the shoulders, forearms, biceps, and triceps (using a heavier rope can add an element of weight training). Jumping rope also works your core because it requires balance, as well as your lower body (quads, hamstrings, and glutes).

Just be sure that you don't jump with both feet in one spot for too long at a time because "this can create bulk," says Anderson. "If you're constantly bouncing on your feet in this way, you're repeatedly firing your quads and not engaging the smaller stabilizer muscles." Instead, she says to mix things up. "Jump on one foot, jump side to side, jump with both feet, jump in a running pattern—the key is changing up the motion while keeping the heart rate pumping."